Circular 35/2021/TT-BTC stipulating the financial management mechanism for implementation of the National Program to support enterprises to improve productivity and quality of products and goods in the 2021-2030 period issued by the Ministry of Finance onion

CIRCULAR

PRESCRIBING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL PROGRAM ON SUPPORTING BUSINESSES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF PRODUCTS AND GOODS DURING THE PERIOD OF 2021 – 2030

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Science and Technology dated June 18, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations dated June 29, 2006;  

Pursuant to the Law on Product and Commodity Quality dated December 5, 2007;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 163/2016/ND-CP dated December 21, 2016, elaborating on implementation of certain articles of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 87/2017/ND-CP dated July 26, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

In order to implement the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1322/QD-TTg dated August 31, 2020, prescribing National Program on supporting businesses to improve productivity and quality of products and goods during the period of 2021 – 2030;

Upon the request of the Director of the Department of Public Expenditure;

The Minister of Finance hereby promulgates the Circular prescribing financial management mechanism for implementation of national program on supporting businesses to improve productivity and quality of products and goods during the period of 2021 – 2030.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and subjects of application

1. This Circular prescribes the financial management mechanism for implementation of the National Program on supporting businesses to improve productivity and quality of products and goods during the period of 2021 – 2030 under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1322/QD-TTg dated August 31, 2020, approving the National Program on supporting businesses to improve productivity and quality of products and goods during the period of 2021 – 2030 (hereinafter referred to as Program 1322).

2. This Circular shall apply to state regulatory authorities, units, entities and persons involved in performing the tasks stated in the Program 1322.

Article 2. Funding

1. State budget appropriations that Ministries, central and local authorities can use according to their annual state budget estimates under their delegated authority prescribed in the Law on State Budget for performing the Program 1322's tasks: 

a) State budget funding is used for covering costs incurred from the tasks prescribed in clause 1 and 2, point a and b of clause 4, point a of clause 5 and clause 6 of Section II of Article 1 in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1322/QD-TTg;

b) State budget funding is used as financial support for the tasks prescribed in clause 3, point c of clause 4, point b, c and d of clause 5 of Section II of Article 1 in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1322/QD-TTg under the provisions of state budget legislation.

2. Business-sector funding is used for performing the tasks of improving productivity and quality of products and commodities of enterprises.

a) The funding amount used for performing the tasks of improving productivity and quality of products and commodities of enterprises shall be decided by enterprises by themselves;

b) When determining income subject to corporate income tax, accounting for expenditures on performing the tasks of improving productivity and quality of products and commodities of enterprises shall be carried out under law on corporate income tax;

c) In case where enterprises use their Scientific and Technological Development Funds with the aim of performing the tasks of improving productivity and quality of products and commodities, they must ensure compliance with regulations regarding spending details and management of Funds under current legislation on Scientific and Technological Development Funds.

3. Other legally mobilized capital.

Article 3. Principles for offer and use of state budget funding

1. State budget funding for performing the Program No. 1322’s tasks based on its percentage compared to other extra-budgetary capital shall vary according to the approved tasks and the balancing capacity of annual state budget receipts and expenditures.

2. Financial support derived from the state budget may be budgeted according to specific funding sources; must be allocated and granted according to the schedule and structure of funding sources for approved tasks.

Article 4. Principles of mobilization and utilization of financial sources

1. It shall be mandatory to develop plans to mobilize finances for carrying out the tasks specified in the Program No. 1322. Each plan should fully clarify funding demands and details classified by funding sources referred to in Article 2 herein and give clear interpretations of capabilities of mobilizing finances for implementation thereof. 

2. When approving the tasks defined in the Program No. 1322, competent regulatory authorities must consult regulations laid down herein to determine spending amounts from other funding sources to carry out tasks, and ensure conformance to the structure of finances or funding for implementation of the Program No. 1322.  

3. Entities and persons performing tasks shall, on their own initiative, call for extra-budgetary funding resources, use and disburse mobilized capital according to plans for mobilization of capital from different financing sources, and ensure such funding is in ratio to the approved state budget funding. 

4. Spending limits, preparation of financial statements and other financial accounts of capital from other funding sources shall be subject to regulations applied to specific funding sources while relevant units shall be encouraged to comply with regulations enshrined herein.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Spending details and amounts for activities of communication and propaganda related productivity and quality

Ministries, central and local authorities shall undertake activities of communication and propaganda pertaining to productivity and quality in the Program 1322 under the guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Spending details and amounts shall be subject to the following regulations:

1. Building a communication program on productivity and quality; disseminating and sharing knowledge and experience about improving productivity and quality:

a) Spending on production of materials and publications in the form of press and publishing products (e.g. programs, specials, feuilletons, chronicles and articles) shall be subject to regulations laid down in the Government’s Decree No. 18/2014/ND-CP dated March 14, 2014, prescribing royalties in the press and publishing sectors;

b) Spending on production of materials and publications existing in the form of literature and fine arts works (e.g. pictures, banners, posters, signage, slogans and digital billboards) shall be subject to the Government’s Decree No. 21/2015/ND-CP dated February 14, 2015, prescribing royalties and remunerations for cinematographic, fine arts, photographic, stage and other performance art works;

c) Spending on production of materials and publications existing in the form of television and radio broadcasting programs shall be subject to regulations laid down in the Circular No. 03/2018/TT-BTTTT dated April 20, 2018 of the Ministry of Information and Communications on economic and technical norms regarding television production, and the Circular No. 09/2020/TT-BTTTT dated April 24, 2020 of the Minister of Information and Communications, introducing economic - technical norms for production of radio broadcasting programs;

d) Other details of spending (e.g. costs of printing and publishing with respect to print press coverage, publications) shall be subject to applicable regulations on allowances and limits for state budget spending providing that payments are made under contracts and based on actual amounts arising within the budget approved by competent regulatory authorities; cost efficiency and effectiveness are assured;

dd) Spending on organizing conferences for widespread communication and sharing of knowledge and experience about improvement of productivity and quality shall be subject to the Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance, prescribing allowances for mileage and conferences.

2. Spending on building, maintenance and development of databases on standards, technical regulations, benchmarks, and good practices concerning productivity as support tools for enterprises and other related databases shall be subject to the Circular No. 194/2012/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance, providing instructions about spending amounts for generation of electronic information with the aim of maintaining regular operations of the agencies and units using state budget funding.

3. Heads of entities and units assigned to perform the task of communication about productivity and quality as per clause 1 and 2 of this Article shall grant approval of the estimate of costs incurred from carrying out tasks within the budget under their jurisdiction, ensure compliance with policies, regulations, cost efficiency, effectiveness and conformance to laws on tendering, ordering and commissioning activities.

Article 6. Details and amounts of spending on human resource training activities for improvement of productivity and quality

The Ministry of Science and Technology shall preside over and cooperate with ministries, central and local authorities in, organizing training activities related to productivity and quality as prescribed in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1322/QD-TTg dated August 31, 2020 on approval of the Program No. 1322. Spending details and amounts shall be subject to the following regulations:

1. Spending on the tasks of formulation and introduction of criteria and standards of productivity professionals shall be subject to provisions laid down in the Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated April 22, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology, providing instructions on norms applied to cost estimating, distribution of estimated costs and preparation of final accounts of costs incurred from performing scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget (hereinafter referred to as Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN).

2. Spending on design of documents used in training and mentoring sessions on improvement of productivity and quality shall be subject to the provisions of Circular No. 76/2018/TT-BTC dated August 17, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance, providing instructions about spending details and amounts for development of training programs and design of syllabuses and curriculums for higher education and vocational education.

3. Spending on provision of training courses:

a) Spending on provision of domestic training courses for productivity and quality professionals, productivity and quality lecturers, executives, managers of enterprises and employees with the aim of teaching them knowledge and skills on productivity and quality; expansion of training on knowledge about productivity and quality at universities, colleges, professional and vocational schools shall be subject to the provisions of the Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance, providing instructions about cost estimation, management, use and settlement of funds for training and coaching of public officials, civil servants and public employees;

b) Spending on provision of overseas training courses for productivity and quality professionals with the aim of ensuring they reach regional and international levels shall be subject to the provisions of the Circular No. 88/2017/TT-BTC dated August 22, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance, setting out regulations on financing mechanism for implementation of domestic and overseas state-funded training programs for science and technology workforce.

4. Hiring domestic and foreign experts and lecturers to participate in training courses for productivity and quality professionals that meet the prescribed standards:

a) Requirements concerning qualification and competence of professionals shall be subject to the regulations enforced by the Ministry of Science and Technology;

b) Entities assigned to design and provide training programs shall, based on the required scope of duties of experts, carry out negotiation over amounts of spending on hiring of experts, give clear interpretation of results of such hiring and criteria for assessment of expert hiring results in order to propose the number of experts and amounts of funding for hiring experts working under lump-sum contracts.

Based on amounts spent on hiring of professionals under the Circular No. 02/2015/TT-BLDTBXH dated January 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, prescribing pay rates for domestic consulting experts as a basis for estimation of costs of bid packages for provision of consultancy services in the form of the contract made based on the period of use of state capital, Heads of authorities having competence in approving training programs shall decide on specific amounts of pay to experts within the approved cost estimate.

Article 7. Spending details and amounts for capacity promotion for standardization of and assessment of conformance to technical standards and regulations

Ministries, central and local authorities shall undertake the tasks involved in the Program 1322 on formulation of technical standards, regulations and assessment of conformance to technical standards and regulations under the guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Spending details and amounts shall be subject to the following regulations:

1. Spending on formulation of national standards and national technical regulations directly supporting activities of improvement of productivity and quality, establishment of standardized foundations for smart production and smart services shall be subject to the regulations laid down in the Circular No. 27/2020/TT-BTC dated April 17, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance, providing instructions about the management and use of funds for the formulation of national standards and technical regulations.

2. Regarding support for improvement of the capacity of certification of conformance to standards and technical regulations for the purpose of obtaining recognition and accreditation at the regional and international level:

Support tasks may be deemed as scientific and technological tasks defined in regulations of the Ministry of Science and Technology.   

Estimation of the budget for implementation of tasks shall be subject to the Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN and applicable regulations on regimes and norms for state budget spending; shall ensure that payments are made under contracts and according to amounts arising within the budget estimate approved by the competent authority; shall ensure thrift, cost efficiency and conformance to laws on tendering, ordering and commissioning activities.  

3. Regarding support for enhancement of capacity for testing of quality, safety and ecology of key products and goods for export:

Based on the balancing capacity of the annual budget, Ministers, Heads of central authorities, and Presidents of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities (with respect to tasks under the delegated local authority) shall issue decisions on approval of the tasks of strengthening the quality, safety and ecological testing capacity for key export products and goods in industries, sectors or under local authority. Heads of entities and units assigned to perform the tasks shall carry out the tasks within the allowed budget estimate, ensure compliance with policies, regulations, cost efficiency, effectiveness and conformance to laws on tendering.

Article 8. Details and amounts of spending on tasks of general management and operation of the Program No. 1322 at the central and local level

1. Spending on offering counsels on identification of tasks; selecting tasks defined in the Program No. 1322; carrying out review and assessment of completed tasks in the Program No. 1322; holding regular or unscheduled meetings of the standing body or the head institution for implementation of tasks involved in the Program No. 1322; hosting scientific workshops, shall be subject to the Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN. 

2. Spending on tasks of researching, perfecting regulatory mechanisms and policies, scientific and technological and innovative solutions for promotion of national, sectoral, local and corporate productivity in the process of restructuring of the economy; tasks of researching, implementing and applying green productivity and community development solutions shall be subject to the provisions of the Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN.

3. Spending on allowances for mileage and organization of meetings about the preliminary and final review of the Program No. 1322 shall be subject to the Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance, prescribing allowances for mileage and conferences.

4. Costs of stationery and public utilities (e.g. electricity, water and telecommunication) shall be paid under contractual terms and conditions and based on actual amounts arising within the approved budget estimate. 

5. With respect to honoring and rewarding collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements on activities of improvement of productivity and quality:

a) Based on specific conditions, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall develop a plan to honor or reward and regulations on rewarding collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in activities of improving productivity and quality according to regulations of the Law on Emulation and Commendation and other instructional documents;

b) Spending amounts for rewarding shall be subject to the regulations laid down in the Government’s Decree No. 91/2017/ND-CP dated July 31, 2017, elaborating on the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation.

In the case of mobilizing other lawful funding sources (not the state budget) from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to honor and reward collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in activities of improvement of productivity and quality: Spending details and amounts shall be subject to rewarding rules and regulations of sponsoring entities or persons after these entities or persons obtain permission from competent authorities for grant of rewards under law.

6. Spending on international cooperation on productivity and quality shall be subject to the Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC dated June 21, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance, prescribing mileage allowances for public officials and officers taking short business trips abroad which are funded by the state budget; the Circular No. 71/2018/TT-BTC dated August 10, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance, prescribing allowances and benefits for receipt of foreign guests entering to work in Vietnam, expenditures on organization of international conferences and seminars in Vietnam and allowances and benefits for reception of domestic guests.

7. Spending on assistance in performing tasks of boosting the mechanism for mutual recognition agreements with regard to conformity assessments at all levels and other direct costs of implementation of the Program No. 1322 shall be subject to current regulations on allowances and limits of state budget expenditures, payments made under contracts and based on actual amounts arising within the approved budget estimate.

Article 9. Support given enterprises for application of technical standards, regulations, management systems, tools for improvement of productivity and quality, support tools for smart production, smart services; participation in international training programs

1. Enterprises fully meeting conditions for participation in the Program No. 1322 under the instruction of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall be supported in the following:

a) Apply basic quality management systems and tools for improvement of productivity and quality, promote the application of management systems and tools for improvement of productivity and quality in specific industries, fields, and the application of standards for newly announced management systems;

b) Apply product and merchandise traceability systems, apply good agricultural practice (G.A.P), organic agricultural practice, and green productivity; apply standards and supporting tools for smart production, smart services;

c) Support the application of information technology and digital technology to establish, optimize and modernize the corporate governance system;

d) Support product and goods certification, certification of safety management systems for food, environment, energy, occupational safety and health, and certification of product and goods traceability systems according to national standards, international standards.

2. The supporting tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall exist in the form of scientific and technological tasks according to regulations of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Estimation of the budget for implementation of these tasks shall be subject to the Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN and applicable regulations on regimes and norms for state budget spending; shall ensure that payments are made under contracts and according to amounts arising within the budget estimate approved by the competent authority; shall ensure thrift, cost efficiency and conformance to law.  

3. Supporting enterprises in participating in training programs provided by Asian Productivity Organization and international and regional standard organizations shall be subject to the provisions of the Circular No. 88/2017/TT-BTC dated August 22, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance, setting out regulations on financing mechanism for implementation of domestic and overseas state-funded training programs for science and technology workforce.

Article 10. State budget estimating, compliance with the state budget and final accounts of state budget expenditures on implementation of the Program No. 1322

Preparation of state budget estimates, compliance with the state budget and final accounts of state budget expenditures shall be subject to legislation on the state budget and public investment and other applicable regulations. This Circular shall provide the following specific instructions:

1. Cost estimation:  On an annual basis, on the date of preparation of the estimate of state budget revenues and expenditures, entities and units assigned to carry out the tasks defined in the Program No. 1322 shall, based on the approved tasks and instructions given herein, prepare the estimate of costs of performing the tasks defined in the Program No. 1322 for submission to their host institutions which are then consolidated into the general cost estimates of Ministries, central and local authorities (under the delegated authority over state budget) that are sent to financial authorities (with respect to regular expenditures), planning and investment agencies (with respect to capital expenditures) before they are proposed to seek the competent authority’s approval; concurrently, sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology for the purposes of general management and cooperation in implementation.   

2. Distribution, assignment of the estimated budget, advances, payments and final accounts of expenses for implementation of the Program shall be subject to the Law on State Budget, the Law on Public Investment and other instructional documents thereof. These activities are performed under the following instructions:

a) The cost estimate for implementation of scientific and technological tasks at the national level in the Program No. 1322 shall be delivered to the Ministry of Science and Technology based on which they can sign contracts with presiding bodies under the provisions of the Law on Science and Technology and other instructional documents;

b) The cost estimate for implementation of scientific and technological tasks at the ministerial, local level and the grassroots level (if any) in the Program No. 1322 shall be delivered to Ministries, local authorities and units appointed as presiding bodies to be implemented in accordance with the Law on Science and Technology and other instructional documents.

3. In cases where tasks are not carried out according to the defined plans, mobilization and disbursement of capital from other funding sources are not on schedule or are contrary to the structure and total amount of such capital specified in the approval decisions of competent entities or under terms and conditions of contracts in effect; the assigned budget is used for wrongful purposes or in breach of regulations: 

Competent state authorities in charge of costs of the Program No. 1322 shall be responsible for taking the following actions: Discontinuing the disbursement of state budget allocations; or suspending tasks; charging off incorrect expenditures and recovering such charge-off to remit to the state budget (with respect to state budget funds), requesting presiding bodies to carry out tasks of treatment of incorrect expenditures (with respect to funds derived from other sources) and taking other actions under their jurisdiction or requesting competent authorities to impose sanctions in accordance with law.

In case of suspension of tasks; recovery of expenditures in breach of regulations that are settled at state treasuries, state regulatory authorities having competence in managing the Program shall be responsible for issuing punitive decisions on suspension of tasks and recovery of expenditures in breach of regulations, and sending them to state treasuries for use as a basis to recover such expenditures to remit to the state budget. 

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 11. Implementation

1. Amounts of spending funded by the state budget for implementation of the tasks defined in the Program No. 1322 as provided herein shall be the maximum ones. Based on criteria and requirements for designation and recruitment of entities or persons eligible for participating in the Program No. 1322 and capabilities of balancing resources, Ministers, Heads of central regulatory authorities and People’s Councils of provinces and centrally-affiliated cities (with respect to the Program No. 1322’s tasks assigned to local authorities) shall issue specific decisions on amounts of spending to ensure they are reasonable.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministries, central regulatory authorities, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-affiliated cities and other relevant entities and persons shall be responsible for managing and using state budget funds for carrying out the tasks defined in the Program No. 1322 to ensure efficiency and avoidance of any overlapping with other programs and projects; ensuring that they serve right purposes, are compliant with existing regulations on spending standards, limits and regimes, and are subject to the competent authority’s inspection and control as per law.

Article 12. Entry into force

1. This Circular shall enter into force as of July 5, 2021.

2. If documents used as references herein are revised, new versions thereof shall prevail.

3. In the course of implementation, if there is any difficulty that arises, the Ministry of Finance should be informed to consider taking prompt actions./.

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